GM’s Lyriq Gets a Second Brake-Software Recall in Two Years as NHTSA’s Brake Probe Grows

GM told federal regulators on October 29 that a software defect in the brake system control module can cause a loss of braking in 67,380 electric vehicles, and for the Cadillac Lyriq it is the second brake-control software recall in just over two years.

The filing is NHTSA campaign 26V717 (GM’s number is N262570900). It covers 2023–2027 Lyriq, 2025–2026 Celestiq, 2026–2027 Vistiq and 2024–2027 Chevrolet Blazer EV models. NHTSA’s record lists the part as the antilock, traction control and electronic limited slip control module, and says a loss of braking raises the risk of a crash. GM will update the software free of charge, over the air or at a dealer, and owner letters are expected December 14, 2026. KARE 11 reported, from the recall notice, that the defect appears at low speeds, can let the vehicle roll forward, and that GM knows of 20 incidents, two with minor injuries. I could not retrieve the full Part 573 report to confirm those figures, so they stand as reported, not verified.

The Lyriq’s brake module already had a file at NHTSA

On April 11, 2024, NHTSA opened preliminary evaluation PE24011 into the electronic brake module on 3,322 model-year 2023 Lyriqs. GM told the agency that an internal spindle in the module can fracture during an ABS event, which causes a loss of brake assist, a speed limit and a partial loss of ABS function. Owners described a hard brake pedal followed by a brake system failure message. GM wrote an over-the-air update that cycles the brake booster at every key cycle and lights a warning lamp if the spindle breaks. It did not file that update as a recall.

Four months later GM did file one. Recall 24V-589, submitted August 8, 2024, covered 21,469 all-wheel-drive 2023–2024 Lyriqs. On dry pavement below 25 mph, GM said, the ABS can activate falsely, and after a particular sequence of wheel movements it keeps releasing service-brake pressure. The root cause was software in the electronic brake control module. GM estimated that 1 percent of the vehicles had the defect and knew of two minor accidents.

On August 21, 2026, NHTSA moved the probe up to engineering analysis EA26006, and the population grew from 3,322 vehicles to an estimated 1,164,820. The 2023–2026 GM models named include the Lyriq, Blazer EV and Celestiq along with the Equinox EV, Traverse, Colorado, Canyon, Acadia, Enclave, Envision and Optiq, and Honda is listed as an affected manufacturer. The agency counts 745 field reports, 22 crashes or fires, five incidents with injuries, six injuries and no fatalities.

Software that stops braking does not need a broken part

In 24V-589, GM’s own root cause was a controller that kept releasing brake pressure after a false ABS trigger. The hydraulics and the pads can be in perfect shape while the module declines to apply them. That is the mechanism GM described in 2024. The 26V717 record I could access says only that braking can be lost in certain driving conditions, so whether the new defect works the same way is not something the public record settles yet.

The investigation is about a different failure. NHTSA’s summary describes the spindle fractures GM identified, which is a hardware problem, while both recalls are software fixes, and nothing I read ties them to a single cause. What they share is the same part of the car. A module that decides how much braking a driver gets has now produced two recalls and a probe that grew more than 350-fold in population, which is a lot of federal attention for one box.

A recall fix and an over-the-air patch are not the same thing for owners

Federal law requires a manufacturer to repair recalled vehicles first sold within the past 15 years at no charge, under 49 U.S.C. 30120, and the recall puts the VINs into NHTSA’s searchable database and triggers owner letters. The 2024 spindle update, issued outside a recall, had none of those attachments. A warranty repair ends where the warranty ends; a recall remedy does not, which is why the label on a fix matters when it comes time to pay for it.

Owners can enter a VIN at NHTSA’s recall page, where the 26V717 VINs became searchable on October 29, or call Cadillac at 1-800-333-4223 or Chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020.

What to watch next

GM’s root-cause description in the Part 573 filing for 26V717 will show whether this is the same logic fault as 2024 or a new one. The Vistiq is in this recall but is not among the models named in the investigation, so the software exposure is wider than the hardware scrutiny. And the end of EA26006 will decide whether the spindle question gets a recall of its own, or stays an over-the-air patch.

If your Lyriq or Blazer EV has now needed two brake software fixes, would you trust another over-the-air patch, or would you want NHTSA to require a dealer inspection of the module?